The Collected Illustrated Guide to Yu-Gi-Oh!

[CrabHelmet]

Within this topic, the knowledge of every Illustrated Edition FAQ combines, making the information easy to access for reference. It also makes this single topic very efficient for *cough* stickying *cough*. Each topic covered here was selected because numerous mistakes were made regarding these topics.

 

Pictures of cards are placed before the relevant section.

 

To top it all off, I've even added a summary after each FAQ.

 

[spoiler=Basic Deckbuilding FAQ - Illustrated Edition]

 

A lot of beginning players think that a good Deck Size is whatever size will allow them to include all the cards they want. Some even think that larger decks are better, on the grounds that they permit a wider variety of cards.

 

Simply put, this is wrong. Smaller decks are superior to larger decks.

 

The thing about larger decks is that, though there are more cards available, you have a significantly lower chance of drawing any given card. If you are unable to draw the cards you need with some degree of consistency, the deck will be unable to win with some degree of consistency. Furthermore, since you can only have three copies of each card in your deck, and many staples can be run only in one or two copies, your chances of playing your best cards are slim.

 

This is not just my opinion; this is a commonly accepted standard among better duelist. If you look at large tournaments, such as Shonen Jump Championships, all the best decks have low numbers of cards; most have 40, generally the best number, and none has more than 45.

 

 

Most good decks should have 40 cards; having more is permissible, but 40 is generally ideal. Of course, there are a few exceptions, depending on the decktype being used. Gadget decks, for example, often run more cards to reduce the player's chances of drawing redundant copies of the Gadget monsters; however, even these decks do not run more than 45 cards.

 

 

Each deck needs a theme of some sort. Some new players will simply throw together cards that they like; however, these decks, commonly described as "HOLY PILE OF RANDOM, BATMAN!", suffer from a severe lack of synergy. Synergy is the way in which the cards in a deck work together and complement one another; random decks generally do not have this support, leaving them at a huge disadvantage.

 

A deck's theme could be anything from a series of cards that were specifically designed to work together as a set, such as the Crystal Beast cards, to cards that all support a specific win condition.

 

 

Each deck needs a win condition, also called a deck goal, or a manner in which that deck is designed to win the duel. Keeping this win condition in mind when building a deck helps to make that deck more focused.

 

Something like "attack and make the opponent's Life Points zero" is not a specific enough win condition; something like "rapidly gain field advantage to defeat the opponent" for Six Samurai or "use the effect of Crystal Abundance to attack the opponent and win" for Crystal Beasts would be more appropriate. Even though both involve attacking the opponent to obliterate his or her Life Points, the manner of doing so is drastically different.

 

Of course, some decktypes do not involve reducing the opponent's Life Points. Decks focused on cards like Exodia, for example, win by fulfilling different conditions; in this case, fulfilling those conditions by a certain method is the deck's win condition.

 

 

When constructing a deck, it is important to have a good ratio of monsters, spells, and traps. In a standard 40-card deck whose win condition involves attacking the opponent and reducing his or her Life Points in a non-OTK method, a good balance usually involves 18-22 monsters (16-24 at the outside), with the remainder divided between spells and traps, usually with about 2 spells for every 1 trap.

 

Of course, there are many exceptions. For example, decks including Jinzo and/or Royal Decree should run low numbers of traps. A deck's win condition can also affect the ratio; DDT decks, for example, usually run about 11 monsters, a large number of Normal Spells, and almost no (if any) traps.

 

 

When constructing a deck, individual card choices can be almost as important as the overall deck structure. As an example, observe the Hero Barrier card above. Many beginner Elemental Hero decks use this card, but it is, in actuality, a very bad card. The following cards serve a purpose that is exactly like that of Hero Barrier, except better:

 

* Mirror Force

* Negate Attack

* Threatening Roar

* Waboku

* Sakuretsu Armor

* Dimensional Prison

* Magic Cylinder

* Draining Shield

 

There is never any reason that Hero Barrier should be used, since any one of these cards can do the exact same thing except with an added bonus and no restriction.

 

Of course, even within the cards that are superior to Hero Barrier, some are better than others. Mirror Force and Dimensional Prison are both superior to Sakuretsu Armor, and Mirror Force is also superior to Negate Attack, Threatening Roar, and Waboku. Since Magic Cylinder and Draining Shield do not provide any advantage and can only negate one attack, they are often considered inferior to the other cards that serve similar purposes (outside of a Burn or Life Point Increase deck, respectively).

 

This is just one example of how card choices can weaken or strengthen a deck, depending on whether they are done properly.

 

 

Situational cards can only be used under specific circumstances. For example, Amplifier can only be used while Jinzo is on the field. Situational cards are generally considered weak, as unless specific conditions are fulfilled, they are completely useless dead draws.

 

 

Nomi monsters contain the text "This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except..." with a summoning condition described on the card.

 

A Nomi's usefulness depends on the balance between how easy its summoning condition is to fulfill and how powerful its effect is. For example, Dark Armed Dragon is easy to summon and has an extremely powerful effect, so it is considered a good Nomi, worth running in a compatible deck. Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth, on the other hand, is extremely difficult to summon and is nothing more than a beatstick once it hits the field; it has no useful effect at all. This makes it not worth running in most cases.

 

 

Normal Monsters, sometimes called Vanilla due to their yellow background color and bland lack of effect, are sometimes added to decks due to their ATK points and possibly their names; however, these can often hurt the deck goal. For example, Gladiator Beast Andal has good ATK and has "Gladiator Beast" in its name, but it lacks a Special Summoning effect common to the other Gladiator Beasts, which means that it doesn't support the deck goal.

 

Of course, there are some situations in which Vanilla monsters make sense. Elemental Hero Fusion-based decks usually use Elemental Hero Sparkman and Elemental Hero Clayman, since they are needed as Fusion Material. Similarly, some Spellcaster decks have a focus on Dark Magician due to the large amount of support available, ease in summoning, and high ATK.

 

Vanilla monsters are fine, but only as long as they make the deck stronger.

 

 

Polymerization is widely considered one of the worst of all cards that can perform a Fusion Summon, as it costs at least three cards to summon one monster, a net loss of at least two cards of advantage, and provides no extra effects.

 

Some Fusion cards, such as Vehicroid Connection Zone, come with an added benefit, while others, such as Miracle Fusion, can use Fusion Material Monsters that are already in the graveyard, and therefore do not result in a loss of advantage. When possible, these alternate Fusion cards are preferable to Polymerization; however, some Fusion Monsters, such as Dark Paladin, cannot benefit from any of them, and so Polymerization must be used.

 

 

If you are using Ritual Monsters, the regular Ritual Spells are not very good; Advanced Ritual Art is the best way to summon them, as this does not cost as much advantage as regular Ritual Spells.

 

Since Ritual Monsters and Ritual Spells are useless if one does not have the other, it is important that you be able to search them out to make them more usable. Therefore, most decks that run Ritual Monsters will include Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands for its search effect.

 

Obviously, to use Advanced Ritual Art, Vanilla monsters are also necessary; this is one of the cases where their use is acceptable.

 

 

Staples are highly splashable cards that will make most decks stronger when included. Heavy Storm, Mystical Space Typhoon, and Mirror Force are the most splashable of these; however, many others, though not quite as universal, can benefit decks just as much.

 

Many staples are Limtied and Semi-Limited cards on the banlist; however, not all Limited and Semi-Limited cards are so splashable. For example, Night Assailant was Limited because two copies of it could be used in an infinite loop.

 

 

In Traditional Format, all of these rules are even more important. Since decks are incredibly fast and powerful, a good balance with strong cards and many staples in a 40-card deck.

 

 

 

 

Summary: Decks should be 40 cards, have a win condition, and be focused on some sort of theme or strategy. Good cards and staples should be included, while Normal Monsters should very rarely be used. Situational cards that require specific circumstances or specific other cards to be used should be omitted. In Traditional format, all of these rules become even more important.

 

[spoiler=Card Advantage FAQ - Illustrated Edition]

 

Card Advantage, put simply, refers to the number of cards a player has in his or her hand and field. For example, if you have four cards in hand and three cards on the field, while the opponent has two cards in hand and four cards on the field, you have more card advantage than the opponent does, as you have immediate access to more cards.

 

Card Advantage can be subdivided into Hand Advantage and Field Advantage. Hand Advantage refers to the number of cards in hand, whereas Field Advantage refers to the number of cards on the field. However, monsters are more important to Field Advantage than Spells and Traps are.

 

 

Advantage Notation is a way of summarizing the efficiency of a card and whether that card pays for itself. It is calculated by determining how a card will affect your Card Advantage. For example, Pot of Greed leaves your hand in order to put two more cards into your hand; since the number of cards in your hand increases by 1, Pot of Greed is considered a +1.

 

Reducing your opponent's advantage is equivalent to increasing your own advantage for the purposes of Advantage Notation. For example, activating Delinquent Duo reduces your number of cards by 1, but reduces the number of cards your opponent has by 2; therefore, it is also considered a +1. A +0 or better is considered good, as it results in no loss of advantage.

 

 

Advantage notation is useful in determining what cards to include in a deck. For example, Tribute to the Doomed costs two cards (Tribute to the Doomed and the discarded card) to destroy one monster (presumably an opponent's monster), making it a -1 in terms of advantage. Smashing Ground, on the other hand, takes one card to destroy one card, and is therefore a +0. For this reason, Smashing Ground is considered superior to Tribute to the Doomed; they serve similar purposes, but Smashing Ground is more efficient.

 

 

The purpose of Card Advantage and Advantage Notation is to reflect a duelist's options. The more cards a duelist has at his or her disposal, the more options are available, the more likely that duelist is to be able to respond to the opponent's moves, and in general the better a position that duelist is likely to be in.

 

Because of this definition, some cards that are technically +1 are still not very good. For example, Thunder Dragon trades one card for two cards, making it a +1; however, the two cards that it adds to your hand are basically useless cards, which means that, though your hand size is larger, you do not have more options at your disposal.

 

 

Life Points do not matter.

 

Yes, you win the game when they hit zero. However, at any time before that point, Life Points are totally irrelevant. Advantage is what wins games, not Life Points. Advantage gives you the ability to win.

 

Observe the card Oozaki. It inflicts 800 damage to the opponent's Life Points, but it provides no advantage; after activation, it merely goes to the graveyard without paying for itself, making it a -1.

 

 

Okay, I lied. Life Points do matter a tiny bit if you can get them below 800, since this prevents the opponent from activating Premature Burial and Brain Control, two commonly run cards that generate advantage. As a rule of thumb, however, Life Points do not make a difference.

 

 

Utility is also important in terms of card advantage. For example, Monster Reborn is a +0, whereas Premature Burial is technically a +1; however, while it remains on the field after activation, Premature Burial is useless to its controller and makes it easier for the opponent to destroy the equipped monster, making Premature Burial inferior to Monster Reborn. This is similar to the reason that Thunder Dragon is not considered a good card.

 

 

Sometimes a card may appear to be a -1 in the short term, but will provide long term benefits. For example, Foolish Burial reduces your card advantage by 1, but its use can provide advantage later in the duel. For example, one of the most popular uses for it is to send Treeborn Frog to the graveyard, which will then provide an extra +1 on every subsequent turn.

 

 

Let's see if you understand the concept of Advantage. Quickly, tell me in advantage notation, what is Sangan? Is it a -3? Is it a +2? What is it?

 

[spoiler=Click here for the answer]Sangan is a +1.

 

Confused? Yes, Sangan gives you one extra card when it is sent to the graveyard, which might make you think that it is a +0; you lose one card, and you get one card. However, before Sangan is sent to the graveyard, it can perform the regular duties of a monster; attacking opponent's monsters, defending you, forcing the opponent to use an attack or effect to get rid of it, and so on.

 

As a rule of thumb, since Spells and Traps go to the graveyard after use, they generally start as a -1; however, Monsters can perform other duties, so they start as a +0.

 

 

 

Dark Armed Dragon's effect may appear to consist of a series of 1-for-1s, a common term for +0's that exchange one card for another, if one didn't know that the graveyard is not counted toward Card Advantage; in fact, each activation of its effect is an easy +1. This is why this and many of the other Dark Counterpart cards, such as The Dark Creator, are so powerful; the costs do not reduce advantage, while the effects do produce advantage.

 

 

The advantage produced by some cards depends on the state of the field. For example, Lightning Vortex starts as a -2, then gains an extra +1 for every face-up monster the opponent controls. Therefore, if the opponent has two monsters, it is a +0, but it is a -1 if the opponent has only one.

 

Cards such as these should be used when they would generate the most advantage. For example, if the opponent declares an attack with his or her only Attack Position monster and you have a Set Mirror Force, it might be beneficial to choose not to activate Mirror Force at that time. Activating it then would merely make Mirror Force a +0; waiting until the opponent controlled more monsters could make it a +1 or better.

 

 

Not every +0 card is good. Jar of Greed, for example, is a +0, but its effect just gives you the card that you would have drawn if you hadn't been using Jar of Greed, and the fact that it's a Trap means you need to wait a turn.

 

What it does do is thin your deck. After its activation, your deck is one card smaller than it would have been if you had drawn another card. This is also the purpose of cards like Thunder Dragon.

 

This does not mean that Jar of Greed and Thunder Dragon should be used all around as staples, though. There are usually better alternative ways to provide deckthinning, although something like an Exodia Deck can still benefit from Jar of Greed.

 

 

Spin refers to a type of effect, such as that of Raiza the Storm Monarch or Phoenix Wing Wind Blast, that returns a card to the top of its owners deck. At first glance, such an effect seems to only delay the problem of an opponent's card rather than actually eliminating it; however, the fact that the card returns to the top of your opponent's deck instead of to your opponent's hand means that your opponent's next draw will be wasted on drawing a card that they already had.

 

Clogging your opponent's draw is very useful, especially since you can choose what card to spin. For example, spinning a Tribute monster will for the opponent to Tribute Summon it in order to use it again; if their field is low on monsters, the draw may even be totally useless. Spin, therefore, is usually considered superior to destruction, which is why Phoenix Wing Wind Blast, despite appearing to be a -1, is now commonly run, and Raiza the Storm Monarch is considered the best Monarch.

 

 

All factors must be considered when determining advantage. For example, Mobius the Frost Monarch may appear to be a +2, while most other Monarchs are a +1, yet he is actually run less than, and is seen as inferior to, the other Monarchs (with the exception of Granmarg the Rock Monarch). The reason for this is that Mobius is rarely able to actually reduce the opponent's advantage as much as it looks like it would be able to, as most Spells and Traps used (Mirror Force is an exception) could be chained to the summoning of Mobius or the activation of its effect, thereby allowing the opponent to benefit from them even though Mobius tries to destroy them.

 

 

Hold on a moment. This card is quite clearly a -1. So why is it run so much?

 

For a start, the purpose of card advantage is to make yourself more likely to be able to respond to your opponent's moves; Dark Bribe is able to replace whatever card the opponent uses to respond with a random card from his or her deck, one which may not fit the circumstances. It also has the ability to disrupt the opponent's strategies.

 

Another thing to note is that any costs that the opponent pays to activate a Spell or Trap are not refunded if that card is negated. So, this card becomes a +0 if it negates a card like Different Dimension Revival.

 

 

By this point, you've probably realized why Polymerization is considered to be so inferior to cards like Overload Fusion. Cards that fuse monsters in the graveyard are +0; you pay the spell that conducts the fusion, and obtain the Fusion Monster. Polymerization, however, is at the very least a -2, since you also lose the Fusion Material Monsters needed for the Fusion Summon; cards in the graveyard do not count toward advantage, remember, but cards in hand and field do.

 

 

Someone merely glancing at Brain Control might see it as a -1, since the monster you steal is returned to the opponent at the end of the turn. However, you must also consider what can be done with the borrowed monster; it does not return to the opponent if it is no longer on the field.

 

Tributing the borrowed monster for a Tribute Summon or to pay a cost for some sort of effect turns Brain Control into a pure +1; you lose one spell but gain a monster, and your opponent loses one monster.

 

 

Equip Spells, Continuous Spells, and Field Spells are, by and large, not great cards. Some good Equip Spells exist, (such as Premature Burial, Different Dimension Revival, and Crystal Release), some good Continuous Spells exist (such as Dimensional Fissure and Level Limit - Area B), and some good Field Spells exist (such as Skyscraper 2 - Hero City and Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins); however, for the most part, these three types of cards fail to provide card advantage to pay for themselves. The ones that merely alter ATK are the worst; the game is no longer about mere ATK points, and spending an entire card solely for such a purpose is not usually worth it.

 

 

For further reading and a demonstration of these principles, refer to A Trestise on Card Advantage by Chaos Pudding, which can be found below:

 

[spoiler=A Trestise on Card Advantage]

In the game Yu-Gi-Oh' date=' your primary objective is to reduce your opponent's Life Points to 0 before your opponent does the same to you. But how does one go about doing this? By playing monsters and attacking most of the time, right? There are, of course, exceptions, but this is what happens for the most part. Now, a new player might learn this and think, "Wow, I guess Life Points are the most important part of the game!"

 

That above thought is wrong in almost all cases. The true key to this game is something called "card advantage". Let's see what happens in the course of an average duel.

 

Player 1: 6 cards in hand/no cards on field/8000

Player 2: 5 cards in hand/no cards on field/8000

 

As we can see, this is the start of a game. Player 1 goes first, and draws his first card.

 

Player 1 plays Allure of Darkness. Player 1 draws 2 cards. Player 1 removes Armageddon Knight from play from his hand. Player 1 sends Allure of Darkness to the Graveyard.

 

Player 1: 6 cards in hand/no cards on field/8000

Player 2: 5 cards in hand/no cards on field/8000

 

Alright, after playing Allure of Darkness, Player 2 draws 2 cards. But, in the process, Player 1 also looses 2 cards from his hand: Allure itself, and Armageddon Knight which was removed for Allure's effect. Therefor, there was no change in advantage. This is why Allure of Darkness and most other drawing cards are considered +0 cards: you have the same number of cards after activating as you had before activating. Now, let's get on with the game.

 

Player 1 sets 1 card in face-down Defense Position. Player 1 sets 1 S/T. Player 1 ends his turn. Player 2 draws 1 card. Player 2 plays Foolish Burial, sending Treeborn Frog from his deck to the Graveyard.

 

Player 1: 4 cards in hand/2 cards on field/8000

Player 2: 5 cards in hand/0 cards on field/8000

 

Now, when Player 2 activated Foolish Burial, he lost 1 card from his hand, and did not gain any cards on the field, or in his hand. Foolish Burial is considered a -1: a card that costs you 1 card of advantage.

 

However, Foolish Burial is by no means a bad card. By sending Treeborn Frog to the Graveyard, Player 2 has set up an engine of +1: Treeborn will come back every Standby Phase until Player 2 has a S/T that remains on the field. But, for now, Player 2 is at a disadvantage. Let's continue the game.

 

Player 2 plays Shield Crush, destroying Player 1's face-down Sangan. Player 1 searches his deck for 1 Armageddon Knight and places it in his hand. Player 2 plays Mystical Space Typhoon on Player 1's face-down Mirror Force.

 

Player 1: 5 cards in hand/0 cards on field/8000

Player 2: 3 cards in hand/0 cards on field/8000

 

Player 2 hitting Sangan with Shield Crush is an unlucky play. Normally, Shield Crush is a +0, because it costs Shield Crush to destroy 1 card. However, because Sangan is a +1, the net loss of advantage for Player 2 is -1. Mystical Space Typhoon is another example of a +0 card. Luckily, Player 1 did not set a chainable: a card that can be chained to most cards to make destroying worthless. If the face-down card had been a card like Waboku, Player 2 would have been at a net loss of -2, wasting MST to destroy a card that gained its effect anyway. Anyway, let's continue.

 

Player 2 plays Destiny Draw, discarding Destiny Hero - Disk Commander to draw 2 cards. Player 2 plays 1 card in face-down Defense Position. Player 2 ends his turn. Player 1 draw 1 card. Player 1 plays Armageddon Knight, sending 1 Dark Horus from his deck to the Graveyard. Player 1 plays Trade-In, discarding The Dark Creator to draw 2 cards. Player 1 plays 1 Dark Armed Dragon.

 

Player 1: 4 cards in hand/2 cards on field/8000

Player 2: 2 cards in hand/1 card on field/8000

 

Player 1 has just played one of the most consistent advantage-gaining cards in the game: Dark Armed Dragon. With Dark Armed Dragon on the field, Player 2 is at a rather large disadvantage.

 

Player 1 removes Armageddon Knight from play from his Graveyard to destroy Player 2's face-down Destiny Hero - Fear Monger. Player 1 attacks with Armageddon Knight and Dark Armed Dragon. Player 1 ends his turn. Player 2 draws 1 card. Player 2 Special Summons 1 Treeborn Frog during his Standby Phase.

 

Player 1: 4 cards in hand/2 cards on field/8000

Player 2: 3 cards in hand/1 card on field/3800

 

Player 2, having just brought back Treeborn Frog, has just opened up a window to strike back. Let's continue.

 

Player 2 plays Premature Burial to Special Summon his Disk Commander from his Graveyard. Player 2 draws 2 cards.

 

Player 1: 4 cards in hand/2 cards on field/8000

Player 2: 4 cards in hand/3 cards on field/3000

 

Just with 1 card, Player 2 has pulled ahead of Player 1 in terms of advantage. Disk Commander, with its ability to give you 2 cards, is almost always a +2, and even +3 in most cases. Let's get back to the game.

 

Player 2 plays Lightning Vortex, discarding 1 Zaborg to destroy both Dark Armed Dragon and Armageddon Knight. Player 2 Tributes his Treeborn Frog to summon 1 Thestalos. Thestalos discards a Dark Armed Dragon, inflicting 700 points of damage.

 

Player 1: 3 cards in hand/0 cards on field/7300

Player 2: 1 card in hand/3 cards on field/3000

 

Now, as you can see, in order for Lightning Vortex to be at least a +0, you would have to destroy at least 2 cards with its effect. That's one of the reasons that Lightning Vortex isn't one of the most cost effective monster destruction cards. Cards such as Smashing Ground or Shield Crush are almost always +0s, and therefor are mostly more cost effective.

 

Moving on to Thestalos, you see a card that is devastating to the hand instead of the field. By getting rid of one of your opponent's options, you greatly limit your opponent's ability to react to your actions. Anyway, let's get on with the duel.

 

Player 2 sets 1 S/T card. Player 2 attacks with both Disk and Thestalos, reducing Player 1's Life Points to 4600. Player 2 ends his turn. Player 1 draws 1 card. Player 1 plays Cyber Dragon. Player 1 sets 1 S/T card. Player 1 attacks Disc, destroying Premature Burial and reducing Player 2's Life Points to 1200. Player 1 ends his turn.

 

Player 1: 2 cards in hand/2 cards on field/4600

Player 2: 0 cards in hand/2 cards on field/1200

 

Player 2 draws 1 card. During Player 2's Standby Phase, Player 2 activates his face-down Phoenix Wing Wind Blast, discarding his Dandylion to return Player 1's face-down S/T to the top of his deck. Player 2 Special Summons 2 Fluff Tokens and 1 Treeborn Frog.

 

Player 1: 2 cards in hand/1 card on field/4600

Player 2: 0 cards in hand/4 cards on field/1200

 

Now, you might be thinking, "Wait, PWWB is a -1! You said those were bad or something, right?" Well, in this case, this card is an acceptable -1, because it really isn't a -1 if you think about it. Your opponent lost 1 card on his field, and they have to draw that same card, ridding them of any new options. Therefor, PWWB is an acceptable -1 for this deck.

 

Player 2 attacks Cyber Dragon with Thestalos, reducing Player 1's Life Points to 4300. Player 2 ends his turn. Player 1 draws 1 card. Player 1 plays Monster Reborn on Disk, drawing 2 cards. Player 1 Tributes Disk for Caius, the Shadow Monarch. Player 1 removes Thestalos with the effect of Caius. Player 1 plays Lightning Vortex, discarding Malicious to destroy the 2 Fluff Tokens and the Treeborn Frog. Player 1 attacks with Caius to win the game.

 

Player 1 won because he kept his advantage high throughout the game. Player 2 lost because I got tired of typing this thing and wanted to end it.

[/quote']

 

 

 

 

Summary: Card Advantage is all about increasing the number of cards in your hand and field while decreasing the number of cards in your opponent's hand and field. This limits your opponent's options while increasing your own. Card Advantage is more important to victory than Life Points are.

 

[spoiler=Fusion Monster Summoning FAQ - Illustrated Edition]

 

First of all, Fusion Substitute Monsters contain text that says something along the lines of "You can substitute this card for any 1 Fusion-Material Monster. When you do this, the other Fusion-Material Monster(s) must be the correct one(s)." They are all Level 4 or below Effect Monsters. The following are Fusion Substitute Monsters:

 

* Versago the Destroyer

* Goddess with the Third Eye

* Mystical Sheep #1

* Beastking of the Swamps

* King of the Swamp

* The Earth - Hex-Sealed Fusion

* The Dark - Hex-Sealed Fusion

* The Light - Hex-Sealed Fusion

 

A few of these have extra effects in addition to the standard Fusion Substitute Monster effect.

 

 

King of the Swamp is a Fusion Substitute Monster that also functions as a Fusion Sage, since it has the ability to search out Polymerization. It is commonly used as a Fusion Substitute Monster in decks that use Polymerization for fusing monsters.

 

 

The three Hex-Sealed Fusion monsters, each with 1000/1600 and a different attribute, have the extra ability to summon Fusion Monsters by tributing themselves and Fusion Material Monsters on the field. They can be used as Fusion Substitute Monsters for a regular Fusion Summon (i.e. one that uses a card like Polymerization) or for the purposes of their own effects. However, Special Summons conducted by their own effects are NOT considered Fusion Summons. The Special Summoned monster must also have the same Attribute as the Hex-Sealed Fusion monster used to conduct the Special Summon; however, when used for an actual Fusion Summon, Hex-Sealed Fusion monsters can serve as Fusion Substitute Monsters even for Fusion Monsters of different Attributes.

 

 

It has been ruled that you cannot use Fusion Substitute Monsters for the effect of Future Fusion; the monsters used must be the correct ones.

 

 

Fusion Substitute Monsters can only be used to replace monsters that are specifically named on the card; they cannot replace unnamed monsters of a specific Type. Therefore, you cannot use Fusion Substitute Monsters in a Fusion Summon of cards like Five-Headed Dragon.

 

 

Certain monsters, such as Phantom of Chaos and Elemental Hero Prisma, have effects that allow their names to change into those of other monsters. While they share that monster's name, these cards are treated as being that monster, even for the purposes of a Fusion Summon. Furthermore, they are treated as being that monster itself, not a Fusion Substitute Monster, and therefore they can be used alongside Fusion Substitute Monsters for a Fusion Summon.

 

 

A Special Summon is treated as a Fusion Summon if it is conducted by the effect of Polymerization, Fusion Gate, or any card containing the text "(This Special Summon is treated as a Fusion Summon.)". A Special Summon is not treated as a Fusion Summon if it is conducted by another effect, such as that of Cyber-Stein or a Hex-Sealed Fusion.

 

The following cards can properly Fusion Summon monsters:

 

* Cyberdark Impact!

* Dark Fusion

* Dark Calling

* Dragon's Mirror

* Fossil Fusion (but only if you're an Anime character)

* Fusion Gate

* Future Fusion

* Instant Fusion

* Miracle Fusion

* Overload Fusion

* Polymerization

* Power Bond

* Super Polymerization

* Vehicroid Connection Zone

 

The following are ways to Special Summon Fusion Monsters from the Fusion Deck that are NOT considered Fusion Summons:

 

* Cyber-Stein

* Magical Scientist

* Metamorphosis

* Summoner of Illusions

* The Light - Hex-Sealed Fusion

* The Earth - Hex-Sealed Fusion

* The Dark - Hex-Sealed Fusion

 

 

If a Fusion Monster has been properly Fusion Summoned and later sent to the graveyard, then (unless it has a clause that prevents Special Summons) it can be Special Summoned from the graveyard by cards such as Monster Reborn. However, if a Fusion Monster has not been Fusion Summoned properly, such as if it had been Special Summoned by Metamorphosis, then it cannot be revived from the graveyard. Note that certain Fusion Monsters with unique Special Summon effects described on their cards, such as VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon, can be Special Summoned from the graveyard after being Special Summoned by their own effects, despite having never been properly Fusion Summoned.

 

 

Re-Fusion can revive a Fusion Monster if and only if that Fusion Monster could also be revived by a regular recursion card like Monster Reborn. If it matters for any purposes, Re-Fusion's effect is not treated as a Fusion Summon.

 

 

Dragoon D-END's effect allows it to Special Summon itself from the graveyard by removing one Destiny Hero monster in the graveyard from play. However, this effect cannot be used if Dragoon D-END has not already been Fusion Summoned properly, even though it is his own effect. Therefore, if he was Special Summoned by Metamorphosis (which is easy with Metal Reflect Slime) and later destroyed, or simply dumped in the graveyard by an effect such as Fusion Guard, it cannot Special Summon itself.

 

 

For the purposes of Metamorphosis, Trap Monsters and Tokens are treated as monsters can can be tributed for its effect. The most common use for this is to tribute a Sheep Token for Thousand-Eyes Restrict, or to tribute a Metal Reflect Slime for Cyber End Dragon or Dragoon D-END. Since Tokens and Trap Monsters are treated as Monsters while occupying a Monster Card Zone, such a move is legal as long as the Fusion Monster in question can be Special Summoned by methods other than Fusion Summon.

 

 

There are two basic summoning restrictions, in addition to the ones common to all Fusion Monsters by their nature, that a Fusion Monster is likely to happen to have. These are described below.

 

 

1. "A Fusion Summon of this card can only be conducted with the above Fusion Material Monsters."

 

This means that, if you use an effect that counts as a Fusion Summon to summon a Fusion Monster containing this text, you cannot use cards such as King of the Swamp as Fusion Substitute Monsters, since they are not the above Fusion Material Monsters.

 

If a card's name changes to match that of a Fusion Material Monster (such as by the effect of Proto-Cyber Dragon, Phantom of Chaos, or Elemental Hero Prisma), that card can be used in the Fusion Summon even if the Fusion Monster contains the above text, since its name is that of the Fusion Material Monster, making it count as being no different from the Fusion Material Monster. However, King of the Swamp's name doesn't change, so it can't be used.

 

Fusion Monsters containing this text can still be Special Summoned by effects that are NOT treated as Fusion Summons, such as the effect of Metamorphosis or Cyber-Stein. However, since it was never Fusion Summoned properly, it cannot then be revived via Monster Reborn or a similar card at a later time.

 

The most confusing case is probably that of the Hex-Sealed Fusions. For example, suppose you control a face-up Cyber Dragon and a face-up The Light - Hex-Sealed Fusion, and have Power Bond in your hand. Since Power Bond's effect is treated as a Fusion Summon, you can NOT use it to combine Cyber Dragon and The Light to form Cyber Twin Dragon, as Fusion Substitute Monsters cannot be used in a Fusion Summon of Cyber Twin Dragon. HOWEVER, you CAN use the effect of The Light - Hex-Sealed Fusion to tribute Cyber Dragon and The Light in order to Special Summon a Cyber Twin Dragon. This is because The Light's effect does not contain the text "(This Special Summon is treated as a Fusion Summon.)" Since it isn't considered a Fusion Summon, the summoning restriction of Cyber Twin Dragon does not apply in this case, allowing The Light to replace a Cyber Dragon for the purposes of its own effect.

 

 

2. "This card cannot be Special Summoned except by Fusion Summon."

 

If the Fusion Monster in question contains this text, that monster cannot be Special Summoned except by an effect that is treated as a Fusion Summon. Therefore, cards such as Cyber-Stein and Metamorphosis will not work. However, Fusion Substitute Monsters CAN be used as part of the Fusion Summon. For example, you can use Miracle Fusion to remove Elemental Hero Sparkman and King of the Swamp to summon Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman.

 

Note that, since the effects of Hex-Sealed Fusions aren't considered Fusion Summons, you cannot use their effects of tributing monsters on the field to Special Summon a Fusion Monster without Polymerization if that Fusion Monster contains this text. However, you can still use Hex-Sealed Fusions as Fusion Substitute Monsters for the effects of cards that ARE considered Fusion Summons, such as Polymerization. Therefore, Polymerization can be used to send Elemental Hero Sparkman and The Earth - Hex-Sealed Fusion to the graveyard to summon Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman.

 

 

There are a few monsters, such as Rainbow Neos, that say "This card cannot be Special Summoned except by Fusion Summon with the above Fusion Material Monsters." These Fusion Monsters are the hardest to summon, as they have all of the above restrictions; forms of Special Summon other than Fusion Summon (i.e. Metamorphosis) cannot be used, and when Fusion Summoning such a monster, Fusion Substitute Monsters (i.e. King of the Swamp) cannot be used. HOWEVER, cards whose effects change their names to match those of the Fusion Material Monsters can still be used, as they are treated as being the Fusion Material Monster itself rather than a substitute for one. For example, if you use Elemental Hero Prisma on the field to send Elemental Hero Neos from your deck to your graveyard, then use the effect of Phantom of Chaos on your field to remove Rainbow Dragon in your graveyard from play, Prisma and Phantom of Chaos are treated as "Elemental Hero Neos" and "Rainbow Dragon" respectively, so you can then activate Polymerization, send Prisma and Phantom of Chaos to the graveyard, and summon Rainbow Neos.

 

 

Even though Super Polymerization says that its effect cannot be negated by another card, it still cannot bypass the restrictions on summoning cards like Rainbow Neos that prevent the use of Fusion Substitute Monsters. This is because the restriction prevents the use of Super Polymerization; it does not negate its effect.

 

 

Cards with specific summoning requirements that differ from those of most Fusion Monsters, such as XYZ-Dragon Cannon and Elemental Hero Magma Neos, do not allow the use of Fusion Substitute Monsters; the monsters used must match the names of the monsters on the card. This means that the name-changing monsters can be used legally, but cards like King of the Swamp cannot.

 

 

De-Fusion is one of the most complicated Fusion-related cards, so it gets an entire section all to itself.

 

First of all, De-Fusion can be used to return any Fusion Monster on the field to the Fusion Deck. This monster can be under either player's control, and can belong to either player. Any card with a violet background is considered a Fusion Monster for this first effect. Whether it can be Fusion Summoned (like Dark Paladin), Special Summoned by a Fusion-like effect (like Gladiator Beast Heraklinos), or Special Summoned in a way that act like a Fusion Monster at all (like Neo-Spacian Marine Dolphin), it can still be returned to the Fusion Deck via De-Fusion. Similarly, non-violet cards that are summoned by Fusion-like effects, such as Gate Guardian or Valkyrion the Magna Warrior, are not Fusion Monsters can cannot be returned by De-Fusion (Yugi uses it on Valkyrion anyhow, which is why you should never rely on the anime for your card rulings).

 

The next effect will only activate if the Fusion Monster was Special Summoned by Fusion Summon. Even if it was Special Summoned by a Fusion-like effect, such as Gladiator Beast Heraklinos's built-in effect or the effect of a Hex-Sealed Fusion, the second effect of De-Fusion will not return the Fusion Material Monsters to the field.

 

This effect also requires that the Fusion Material Monsters used in the Fusion Summon be in the graveyard of the player who activated De-Fusion, not the graveyard of the owner or controller of the returned monster. Therefore, if you use De-Fusion on your opponent's Elemental Hero Darkbright, your opponent cannot Special Summon the Elemental Hero Sparkman and Elemental Hero Necroshade used in the Fusion Summon from his or her graveyard, as they are not in your graveyard.

 

The monsters Special Summoned by the effect of De-Fusion are the ones used in the Fusion Summon, not necessarily the Fusion Material Monsters listed on the Fusion Monster. For example, if Polymerization is used to discard Enchanting Mermaid and King of the Swamp to summon Rare Fish, and De-Fusion is used on Rare Fish, you may Special Summon King of the Swamp and Enchanting Mermaid from your graveyard. If you have a Fusionist in your graveyard, then you cannot Special Summon it, as it was not used in the Fusion Summon of Rare Fish, despite being listed as a Fusion Material Monster.

 

You cannot even use other copies of the same Fusion Material Monsters used. For example, if you Fusion Summon Cyber Twin Dragon with Polymerization, and your opponent uses D.D. Crow to remove one Cyber Dragon in your graveyard from play, you cannot discard another Cyber Dragon and then use De-Fusion on Cyber Twin Dragon to Special Summon the two Cyber Dragons in your graveyard; though they have the same names as the ones used in the Fusion Summon, they are not the exact monsters used, but merely other copies.

 

All of the Fusion Material Monsters used in the Fusion Summon must be in your graveyard for you to be able to revive any of them. For example, suppose you Fusion Summon Cyber Twin Dragon with Polymerization, and your opponent uses D.D. Crow to remove one Cyber Dragon in your graveyard from play. You cannot use De-Fusion on Cyber Twin Dragon to Special Summon the remaining Cyber Dragon in your graveyard; all of the Fusion Material Monsters must be present.

 

Even though they must all be in the graveyard when De-Fusion is activated, the Fusion Material Monsters do not need to have been in the graveyard the entire time that the Fusion Monster was on the field. For example, if you used Dragon's Mirror to remove from play three Blue-Eyes White Dragons in your graveyard and summon Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, then activated Burial from a Different Dimension to return the three removed Blue-Eyes White Dragons to your graveyard, you could legally use De-Fusion to remove Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and Special Summon the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons.

 

You must also have room in your Monster Card Zones to Special Summon all of the Fusion Material Monsters involved in the Fusion Summon; otherwise, you cannot Special Summon any of them. For example, suppose you used Power Bond to discard six Machine-Type monsters, including at least one Cyber Dragon, thereby Fusion Summoning Chimeratech Overdragon. If you used De-Fusion on Chimeratech Overdragon, you could not Special Summon any of the Fusion Material Monsters used, as they could not all fit on your field simultaneously (unless you're a cheater).

 

Furthermore, you must be able to legally Special Summon all of the Fusion Material Monsters to use De-Fusion's second effect. For example, if a Fusion Material Monster for a Fusion Summon of a Chimeratech Overdragon was Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon, then De-Fusion could not Special Summon any monsters, even if there was enough room on the field, because Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon is Nomi, and therefore cannot be Special Summoned except by its own effect.

 

Finally, remember that De-Fusion only cares that the Fusion Material Monsters are in your graveyard; it doesn't care whose monster was removed. If your opponent uses Brain Control and Enemy Controller to take control of two Cyber Dragons you control, then uses Power Bond to summon Cyber Twin Dragon (sending the Cyber Dragons to your graveyard), you can use De-Fusion to not only banish Cyber Twin Dragon but also to revive your Cyber Dragons.

 

 

 

 

Summary: A Special Summon is only treated as a Fusion Summon if the card conducting the summon says so (or if that card is Polymerization). Hex-Sealed Fusion monsters can act as Fusion Substitute Monsters for a Fusion summon that another card conducts, but can also conduct Special Summons themselves. Fusion Substitute Monsters are not treated as the correct Fusion Material Monster for the Fusion Summon of cards with effects like that of Cyber Twin Dragon, but name-changing monsters are treated as correct; such a card can also be Special Summoned through means other than Fusion Summon. If not Fusion Summoned, a card cannot be revived from the graveyard.

 

 

Any new FAQs or updated versions of old FAQs will be added here.

[God GAK]

Very very very good tutorial Crab Helmet. I liked it very much. This must be stickied.

[Bfmvrocks]

Sweet. Newbies better read this <_

[tonisanoob]

yes i agree

[CrabHelmet]

So...how do you get things stickied around here? All four of the current stickies were made by mods. Guess I'll wait for promotion. >.>

[tonisanoob]

there is no reason to say it couldnt get sticked

i mean this is waaay better than the other stikied deck making stuff

[Cyber Altair]

when we will find a mod we will kindly, remember kindly ask him if this can get stickied as this will help us improve and make us better unlike the useless stickies.

[Kizzi]

This has taught me a few things. Minor things, but things nonetheless. =p

[uzumakinaruto93]

Sweet. Newbies better read this <_<

 

they should, but sadly they probably wont

[CrabHelmet]

Chaos Pudding's Card Advantage section has been updated.

 

~ S T I C K I E D ~

~ S T I C K I E D ~

[TAG]

Another excellent job. It's no wonder you're a mod of the TCG section.

[Guest PikaPerson01]

OH SNAP! Crab's a mod now!?

[Static]

OH SNAP! Crab's a mod now!?

 

Yeah. Should be able to get away with just as much as you did before. You know Crab loves you :P

[Guest Chaos Pudding]

I could have sworn that I posted in this thing before. Anyway, thanks for using my guide, Crab. Glad it could be of use for something.

[casaditymaker]

Thanks a bunch! :P

[Cyber Altair]

wow, your an awesome mod, you should make a thread about the banlist.

and about cards coming but currently in the OCG, that's good stuff to have.

[Kizzi]

This is truly the most deserving sticky in the Yugioh section. :)

[Static]

Why Isn't my "How To Rip" guide in there? :P

[Axiom_Nor]

Why isn't the "List of instant fail" in there?

 

XD

[CrabHelmet]

Why isn't the "List of instant fail" in there?

 

XD

 

Because every list of instant fails that I've seen has been highly flawed and not worth stickying. The last version that I saw said that "lack of Shien's Castle of Mist" was an instant fail for Six Samurai.

[Gravitize Me Cap'n!]

Collected -> Collective.

[HelioSpark]

Just wanted to say that this guide taught me some things even after reading possibly every pojo guide. Thanks Crab Helmet!

[qwertyAAA]

Thanks!!!

[「tea.leaf」]

Should I put JoC's new articles in here?

[JesusofChaos™]

New dealing with article